Dependent major sons are entitled to loss of consortium and 10% future prospects for deceased aged 52.

The Appellant (Insurance Company) challenged the award dated December 05, 2014, passed by the MACT, Saket Courts, which awarded Rs. 15,04,100 with 9% interest to the claimants for the death of Vijay Singh in a motor accident.

The Appellant contested the loss of dependency, arguing that the younger son, Shankar (PW2), was gainfully employed as a Safai Karamchari at Mausam Bhawan and thus not a dependent.

The claimants countered that Shankar was unemployed at the time of the accident and only gained employment later, supported by service records and affidavits filed pursuant to court directions.

1. Whether the younger son of the deceased was a dependent at the time of the accident for the purpose of calculating loss of dependency.

2. Whether the compensation awarded by the Tribunal requires realignment in accordance with settled legal principles regarding future prospects, consortium, and conventional heads.

The Court primarily applied the principles laid down in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi and Ors. (2017) 16 SCC 680 regarding the standardization of future prospects and conventional heads like loss of estate and funeral expenses.

It further relied on United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Satinder Kaur @ Satwinder Kaur and Ors. (2021) 11 SCC 780, which clarified that compensation for "loss of love and affection" is no longer a permissible head, as it is subsumed under "loss of consortium".

Regarding dependency, the Court rejected the Appellant's contention, finding that PW2’s testimony of being employed referred to his status on the date of cross-examination (2013) rather than the date of the accident.

The Court accepted the service records and bank statements proving Shankar was unemployed at the time of the accident.

Regarding the quantum, the Court realigned the award: it added 10% for future prospects as the deceased was 52 years old, and reduced the personal expense deduction to 1/2.

Under conventional heads, the Court deleted the "love and affection" award, reduced funeral expenses to Rs. 15,000, increased the loss of estate to Rs. 15,000, and awarded parental/filial consortium of Rs. 40,000 each to the three claimants.

However, it modified the compensation, enhancing the total award from Rs. 15,04,100 to Rs. 16,55,950 (an increase of Rs. 1,51,850).

The Insurance Company was directed to deposit the enhanced amount and the balance 50% of the original award with 9% interest within four weeks.

The Court ordered the release of funds to the claimants via structured Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs) to ensure financial security.